Man charged over Audrey Griffin’s murder found dead in prison cell
Police confirm 53-year-old discovered unresponsive at Silverwater correctional complex late on Thursday
The man accused of killing a 19-year-old Central Coast woman, Audrey Griffin, has died in custody just days after being charged with her murder.
A 53-year-old man was found unresponsive in his cell at the Silverwater metropolitan remand and reception centre about 4.50pm on Thursday, New South Wales police said. His death was not being treated as suspicious.
Police sources on Friday morning confirmed that the deceased man was Adrian Torrens, who was charged on Monday with Griffin’s murder, as well as 11 unrelated domestic violence matters.
Griffin, a keen athlete, was found dead in March, her body partly submerged in Erina Creek near a Central Coast highway, after she disappeared on her way home from a night out with friends.
Forensic and postmortem examinations of Griffin’s death did not initially point to suspicious circumstances, but Supt Darryl Jobson said on Tuesday that it was an “unsettling” case and “a matter which has not sat well with us from the start”.
An investigation led to the arrest last week of Torrens. Police alleged he was not known to Griffin but the pair had become involved in a physical altercation after 3am on 23 March.
After finding Torrens unresponsive in his cell on Thursday night, corrective services personnel and ambulance paramedics tried to revive him but were unsuccessful, police said.
Auburn police area command officers established a crime scene and began an investigation. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said on Friday that it was concerning Torrens had been free to allegedly murder Griffin despite a history of family violence offending.
Torrens was released on a community corrections order (CCO) in January by the chief magistrate of the local court, Michael Allen.
He faced charges relating to the alleged breaching of that order and the alleged murder of Griffins at the time of his death.
The fact Torrens was on a CCO was first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Minns said it was a “very important question” to answer why Torrens was not in custody at the time Griffins was killed.
“I’m obviously aware of those reports, and they are concerning, but as soon as we have answers, we’ll report them to the family,” he said.
“It may well be part of the coronial inquiry as to the death in custody, and we’ll do everything we possibly can to give answers to Audrey’s family in the days and weeks ahead.”
Minns said the government was committed to uncovering whatever it could to understand the circumstances behind Griffin’s murder.
“I can’t promise answers, but I can promise that the NSW police will conduct a full inquiry, a full investigation, and do whatever they humanly can to give Audrey’s family answers as to this shocking crime.
“It’s terrible that this injustice has taken place, but clearly the NSW government and the police will do everything they possibly can to give answers to that family, although nothing will bring back Audrey and nothing will assuage the loss that they’re obviously going through today.”
Minns said he understood why Griffin’s death would have sent a “real chill” through the community, particularly among women, and underlined the importance of “society and civic leaders and the community [needing] to do all that we can to ensure that violence against women is never tolerated”.
Acting attorney general Ron Hoenig said he had requested the transcript of Torrens’ most recent appearances in court.
The coroner is expected to hold separate inquests into the deaths of Torrens and Griffin.
The Terrigal community on the NSW Central Coast held a vigil in memory of Griffin on Thursday night.
Karen Iles, principal solicitor of Violet Co and founder of justice campaign Make Police Investigate, who grew up in the area, said she had been appalled that police had for weeks publicly treated Griffin’s death as if it were probably the result of misadventure.
“The initial police suggestion that there was nothing suspicious about the way Griffin died was despicable,” Iles said. “For a 19-year-old to be found in a public place, in the mangroves, is in and of itself exceptionally suspicious.”
She said that the misadventure narrative perpetuated by police over the initial weeks after Griffin’s death contributed to stereotypes that women were responsible for the violence that was inflicted on them.
“Unfortunately these initial reactions that the public and police have often clouded the judgment of police, and can result in police not investigating brutal murders, horrific sexual assaults and terrible instances of domestic violence,” Iles said.
“We need a set of mandatory minimum steps that police must do when they have crimes against women reported to them, whether it’s sexual assault, murder or disappearance. We need to remove the discretion from police – our community expects that police thoroughly investigate these crimes against women unfortunately police are not meeting that expectation.